


Let It All Not Be A Dream

by secretagentofsin



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst and Feels, Fluff, Mabel to the emotional rescue, Mysterious Antagonist, Possible OOCness, Stangst, mullet stan, sort of???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-10-19 11:53:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10639302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretagentofsin/pseuds/secretagentofsin
Summary: Somebody decides to play a littleprankon our favorite Grunkles, and they're very pleased with the result.No one else is. Except Ford kind of is, and Mabel's absolutely thrilled for the most part. Plus, Dipper and Soos think it's awesome, and Wendy's just indifferent.Okay,Stanis very displeased at this turn of events, and who can really blame him? How would you feel if the prospect of the last thirty years being all in your head was suddenly thrown at you?





	1. Come Apart at the Seams

**Author's Note:**

> This was half an excuse for Mullet!Stan And Kids shenanigans, and half an actual angsty idea. With a BeforePortal!Ford thrown in for spice.

          The amount of pure _emotion_ in the air here was simply… _intoxicating_. The source of it all was, predictably, in Gravity Falls. Why was he not surprised?

          As he fed from the culmination of negative and positive energy, he couldn’t help but want more. _So much more_. He knew he shouldn’t fiddle with humans’ lives, but he just didn’t care.

          He wanted chaos and drama, but that would only create negative emotions. What he loved the most about this spot was the blend of negative and positive, so what could he do to create that.

          He decided to sift through past moments where there were surges of both energies, and after a while he finally had a plan. Something that would create a whirling mix of emotions.

          Now to simply put it into action.

 

 

 

          Mornings were worst things to ever exist in the history of the universe, and nothing could convince Stanley of otherwise. As he lay in bed, glaring at the ceiling, he wondered if he should even bother leaving his room today. But he knew that if he didn’t, Mabel would be crushed.

          Last night Ford had asked the kids if they wanted to go out on a "Monster Hunt", a thankfully safe one, and of course they'd said yes. He'd expected that. What he hadn’t expected was Mabel squealing out of nowhere and turning to Stan with wide eyes and a giant grin that only spoke of trouble. Oh, no.

          "Grunkle Stan, we should make this a family trip! You could come with us, and maybe Soos too! Ooh, maybe even _Wendy_." She'd said, turning to Dipper with a wink when she'd mentioned his teenage employee. But Stan had barely noticed.

          "Uh, sorry kid. But I've gotta run the Shack, you know that.” Stan stubbornly ignored the way Mabel’s face fell, but he could feel a spark of guilt flare in his chest. “You can take Soos, sure, but Wendy's gotta stay here and work the register." Stan felt terrible at the twin looks of disappointment he received, but he really did have work to do.

          That’s when he caught the look of relief on his brother's face, and Stanley was speaking before he even realized it. "Actually, maybe I need a break from the Shack. I don't get to do much with you kids, so why not? And yes, Dipper, we can take Wendy." Even now, the next morning, Stan grinned fondly at the memory of their excited smiles… And Ford’s scowl. He couldn’t let them down after agreeing to go, right?

          So with a grunt, he jerked up and was immediately hit in the face with hair. Stanley froze, confused and a little shocked because there was no one else in the bed with him, and his hair was pretty short last he checked. So who's hair was hanging in front of his face and falling over his shoulders?

          "Uh..." He mumbled, and staggered out of bed. Where were all the usual aches and pains? Not that he was complaining really, it was just concerning. First the hair, then the lack of old man pain. Something was up.

          Stan gave the hair an experimental tug to confirm it was his own, and then called out for his niece. "Mabel, could ya bring your Grunkle Stan a hair tie or somethin'?!"

          Without waiting for a response, he turned towards the full-body mirror in the corner of his room, fully intending to see what was wrong. Then he hesitated. Stan wasn't sure why, but he felt a flash of dread over what he would see in the mirror. So he stood awkwardly by the side of his bed as he tried to gather the courage to move.

          After only a moment or so, irritation at himself reared it's ugly head, and Stanley sneered. "Don't be a wuss." He told himself, and stomped over to the mirror. There was nothing wrong, and he was just being paranoid...

          Except he wasn't, and the reality of it crashed down on him like a pile of bricks.

          In the mirror stood a muscular _young_ man with long brown hair that didn't belong, and wide eyes with dark bags under them. His face that was supposed to be old and wrinkled was smooth and had an unhealthy gray tinge to it. Familiar broad shoulders were no longer slumped with age, but instead were slumped and shaking with despair and resignation. There was a nasty feeling curling in Stan's gut as he stared at his reflection from thirty years ago, and he knew exactly why it was there.

_It was all a dream._

          Not the young face in the mirror. Not the long hair brushing Stanley's shoulders. No, everything _important_ . Mabel and Dipper coming to stay for the summer. Soos and Wendy working in the Mystery Shack. _Ford_. It was all a dream, and he knew this for sure because he'd had other dreams like this. Ones where he'd rescued Ford from the portal. And while this one was more realistic and detailed than the others it was still a dream. The face in the mirror was proof.

          "No..." Stanley whispered, and his legs turned to jelly. His knees hit the wooden floor with a loud _thunk_ , and he had to swallow back bile. It had to be real, but he knew it wasn't, and he was falling apart. He couldn't survive another thirty years, even if the past ones had been all in his head. His ears were ringing, but it sounded like someone was murmuring on the edge of his hearing.

          "...kle...an?" What? Someone was talking, but he couldn't place the voice. It’s not like it mattered anyway.

          "Are y...kay? Wha...appen...?" Stan must've been dreaming again because the voice that was talking to him sounded so much like Mabel that it hurt.

          " _Grunkle Stan_!"

  
  


          Mabel hummed to herself as she stuffed a box of crackers in her backpack to join the block of cheese, the bag of grapes, the bag of sandwiches, and the water bottles. The only snack left were the granola bars, and Mabel couldn't help but giggle at the weird brand name. "Probably-Granola-But-Maybe-Not Bars?" She asked herself as she shook her head in wonder. The snacks were for the Family Outing they were having today, and Mabel had never been so excited in her whole life! Okay, maybe she has, but that didn't matter. Soos and Wendy were waiting in the gift shop, ready to head out once Dipper grabbed Great-Uncle Ford from the basement and Mabel dragged Grunkle Stan out of bed.

          Speaking of her Grunkle! Just as Mabel zipped up her bag, she heard a rough call from upstairs. She paused, and her nose scrunched up in confusion. "Did... Did Grunkle Stan just ask for a hair tie?" She whispered, but got over it quickly. Mabel set her bag down by the door, and then scampered up to her room to find a hair tie. It only took a few minutes, but she hurried over to her great-uncle's room anyway.

          "Grunkle Stan?" She called as she opened the door. She looked to the bed first, but it was empty. Then she heard panicked breathing, and jerked her gaze over to the opposite corner of the room. "Oh my gosh..." Mabel mumbled, her eyes wide in shock. In front of Grunkle Stan's mirror, a young man was slumped on the ground. He had his hands cupped over his ears, and his entire body was shaking. He had long brown hair with a curl at the end that Mabel instantly recognized as a Pines family trait. Then she saw he was wearing her Grunkle’s undershirt and boxers. So that meant...

          "Grunkle Stan?" She called again, and the young man twitched. It had to be him, but what was wrong? Why was he shaking so much, and why did he sound like he couldn't breath? "Are you okay? What happened?"

          No answer, but Grunkle Stan started breathing faster and harder. Mabel hesitantly stepped around him so she was beside him, and his appearance from this angle was even more worrying. His face was ashen, and his eyes were wide and blank. Stan was biting his bottom lip hard enough that a few drops of blood dribbled down his chin. Something was definitely wrong, but he wasn't responding. Did she need to be louder? Because Mabel could be loud.

          She took a deep breath, and then wailed as loud as she could. " _Grunkle Stan_!" The response was instantaneous. Stan jerked back in alarm, and he had to slam his hands on the floor to keep from falling over. His wide eyes met Mabel's, and for what felt like hours and was probably only seconds, they stared. "Are you okay?" She asked her great-uncle in a hushed tone, and apparently he wasn't because instead of answering he just continued to stare. Even as tears welled in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks.

          He was crying, and Mabel had never seen him cry before. Something was really wrong.

          "Are you," Stanley started to ask, voice rough. "A-are you real?"

          Mabel wasn't entirely sure how to answer that, so she glanced around before hesitantly saying, "I'm pretty sure, yeah. Why?" She could hear the thudding of footsteps up the stairs, and she wasn't surprised. She had screamed pretty loud.

          "Mabel!" Wendy's panicked voice drifted in through the door just before it slammed open to reveal both of Stan's employees. They froze, and Stan jerked around to stare at them.

          "Guys, Grunkle Stan got turned young." She said bluntly, and glanced beside her to see her great-uncle shaking even harder.

          "Mr. Pines?" Soos asked hesitantly, wringing his hands as he tried to catch his breath. "You okay, dude?"

          "I..." Stan choked out. "I don't... Please tell me you're real. _Please_." He whispered, and it ended in a sob. Wendy was still frozen in place, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to wrap her mind around what was happening. Not only was Grunkle Stan not Grunkle aged, but he was crying and saying please. Mabel was amazed at how levelheaded she and Soos were being. Soos especially.

          He was staring at the man he saw as a father with a calm that Mabel had never seen before. He stepped into the room, and sat down in front of Grunkle Stan. "We're real, Mr. Pines. I'm your handyman, and Wendy works at the cash register. Mabel is your great niece, and her twin Dipper is your great nephew. And your mysterious twin brother is down in the basement with Dipper. We were going out on a family trip today?" A hint of hope broke through the calm demeanor, and Soos started wringing his hands again.

          Mabel shuffled a little closer to Soos so she could fully see her great-uncle’s face, and her heart broke at his expression. Stan was obviously trying his hardest to hold back tears and keep quiet, so Mabel slowly leaned forward to wrap her arms around his broad shoulders. She made sure to move extra slow, just in case her Grunkle didn’t feel like hugging, but he barely moved an inch. Taking that as encouragement to go on, Mabel rested her chin on his shoulder, and quietly told him, “It’s okay to cry, Grunkle Stan. None of us will judge you. I promise.”

          After a moment of tense silence, Mabel thought that he hadn’t heard her. Maybe he was zoned out again. Suddenly there were arms around her, squeezing like she might just vanish into thin air. Then came the sobs.

          They weren’t loud or dramatic. They were carefully quiet, harsh, and so utterly _Stan_. Of course he wouldn’t totally let himself go, but he was at least trusting them with this much, and it meant the world to Mabel. Taking her duty as comforter seriously, Mabel patted her great-uncle’s head with one hand and his back with the other.

          “It’s okay, Grunkle Stan. You’re safe, and we’re here, and we love you.” She said with a smile, and Stan somehow hugged her tighter. She felt one of his hands shakily pat her back in return, and Mabel positively beamed. She wasn’t really sure what was wrong, but maybe Ford would.

          She only hoped he’d be willing to share and, dare she even think it, _help_.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not sure how to approach BeforePortal!Ford... Will his mind be the same as it is now? Because, honestly, even if it's not, he was pretty messed up before the portal too.


	2. No Significant Downsides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry in advance for any OOCness. I'm not good at Stanfording

          The only sounds in the basement were the gentle whirring of machinery, and the scrap of Stanford's pen against paper. His glasses were beginning to slide down his nose, but the scientist paid them no heed. All of his attention was focused solely on the equations in front of him, so while he heard the rumble of the elevator arriving, his mind didn't really register the sound. Even the patter of light footsteps didn't faze him.

          “Great-Uncle Ford?" The confusion and shock in the family voice made Stanford pause, and he quickly realized who was speaking. With a large smile, Stanford spun in his chair to face his great nephew. 

          "Dipper, m'boy! You're just in time to help me out with some-" 

          " _ Great-Uncle Ford, what did you do?! _ "

          Stanford was cut off mid-sentence by a sudden outburst from Dipper, and mouth instantly shut, teeth clacking together painfully. His wide eyes met Dipper's, and as Stanford's confusion grew he watched horror and embarrassment spread across his great nephew's expression. His face quickly turned red, and he seemed to hunch in on himself.

          "Um, I mean- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled like that, that was disrespectful and rude!" Dipper blurted, seemingly not in control of his own mouth. 

          "What... What made you ask that? Is something the matter?" Stanford asked calmly, one eyebrow raised curiously. He ignored the worry pooling in his gut at the numerous ideas of what could be wrong. Freaking out and interrogating the boy would only escalate the situation and panic Dipper. 

          "Oh, well, you just look... Very... Uh." Dipper paused, really looking over his great-uncle. His first thought had been that Ford had done some kind of experiment on himself, but now he just looked genuinely confused. Did his great-uncle not know how he looked? "Have you checked a mirror recently?" Dipper asked, his voice pitching higher as he gave Stanford a meaningful look.

          "Well, no. I don't have any mirrors down here, and I haven't been upstairs since..." Stanford gasped, and jumped out of his chair so fast it was knocked back against the console with a loud  _ crash _ . "I forgot about the trip!"

          "The... What?" Dipper stuttered, feeling like they were on two very different trains of thought. "That... I guess that's why I came down here, but I think your appearance is just a  _ little _ more important!" Dipper snapped.

          "What about my appearance?" Stanford asked with a frown. Without waiting for an answer, he spun to look at his reflection in the window separating the console room from where the portal once stood.

          He blinked. That couldn't be right. 

          "See what I mean?" Dipper asked anxiously.

          As he stared at the reflection of himself in the dirty glass, Stanford was surprised he hadn’t noticed earlier. He wasn’t even sure when the transformation had occurred, but he suspected it happened during his quick nap. That would explain why such a short nap would leave him feeling so fresh and relaxed. For a split second, everything slowed to a stop as a terrible thought rang around inside his head.

          Everything from the point where he’d been sucked into the portal could have been a delusion. An insane nightmare cooked up by Bill to torture Stanford.  _ He should’ve known it was too fantastical to be true. Stanley dropping everything just to come help the brother who abandoned him was unrealistic- _

          No. As soon as the idea hit him, Stanford realized how foolish it was. His time in other dimensions had been too real, and much too painful. He had a multitude of scars, both mental and physical, to prove it. Well, Stanford no longer had the physical scars, but the ones on his mind would never leave. Even then, if by some impossible miracle his mind was healed, Dipper was standing only a few feet away as proof that he and his sister existed. They alone were proof everything was real, and Stanford refused to consider any other possibilities. He would take advantage of the situation and enjoy it.

          With that terrible possibility out of the way, Stanford couldn’t find a significant downside to his current predicament. His reflection in the dirty glass was that of himself before the portal. His hair was brown again, but surprisingly less… Floofy, as Mabel put it. He still had dark circles under his eyes, and the amount of stubble covering his jaw was mildly alarming. Overall, the experience was strange and faintly unnerving yet not unwelcome. 

          Being young again of course had it's perks. Just like his physical scars had vanished, so had that  _ ridiculous _ tattoo. His leg no longer ached when he moved, the cold dankness of the basement barely bothered him. However, there was a feeling of debility in his muscles that was disconcerting, to say the least, but it wasn’t like he was entirely without strength. Chasing after the supernatural had toughened him up long before he was forced to adapt on the other side of the portal, it was just less so.

          “Great-Uncle Ford? Do… Do you think this could’ve happened to anyone else?” Dipper asked from behind him, with a strange emphasis on “anyone else”. It took Stanford a moment, but with a jolt he realized that it was a very real possibility Stanley could be in the same situation. Still, what was there to worry about? Why was Dipper glancing between the elevator and Stanford with panic in his eyes? 

          “Yes, there is a definite possibility. Did you wish to check on Stanley, m’boy?” Stanford returned patiently, and turned to face his great nephew. The worry was understandable since Dipper seemed to worry over everything, but why the panic? Stanford thought his twin would be delighted at this sudden turn of events. No more old man pains, as he would put it. 

          “C-could we? I have a bad feeling.” Even as he said this, his nephew was already making his way towards the elevator. “I mean, it could just be me worrying over nothing, but I’ve learned to expect the worst at this point.” 

          “I understand Dipper, but I think Stanley will be fine, if he’s even affected. He’s always complaining about how terrible it is to be old, so he should be happy to be young again.” Stanford explained with a dismissive wave of his hand as they stepped into the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at chapter titles. Sorry for such a long wait! I kept getting stuck on how to write Stanford, and then I was stuck on what to include. Then I couldn't get in the mood, and THEN school decided to kick me in the booty. Anyway, please leave a comment about any mistakes or things you think don't fit. I love feedback. Even if I'm really awkward at replying


	3. Temporary Update

**Hello all you lovely readers!** I'm really sorry about the lack of updates on... any of my stories, but I've mostly been focused on house work and drawing for the past few months. And before that it was finishing off my senior year and graduation. But enough excuses! I really do wanna write more for this story because I still love the idea for it- 

**However.**

I'm thinking of rewriting it from the beginning, like I did with  _Think Of The Children_. Just because I think I can write it better. One of the biggest things will probably be not having Wendy and Soos in the beginning because my writing goes down hill when too many characters are involved at once. 

Another thing, I have a crap ton of other story ideas that I have, like, half-written... I may post those if I get around to finishing them. Which I wish I do. I'm leaving this chapter up while I rewrite this story, and if you have any advice, criticisms, or ideas you think I should include, leave them in a comment on this chapter and I'll see what I can do! 

 

 

_I really need to stop rewriting my stuff._


End file.
